Ball and cube with conduits extending between adjacent walls thereof

ABSTRACT

An amusement device employing a hollow cubical box having three curved conduit members assembled therein, each extending from and between a central opening in one wall of the box and a central opening in an adjacent wall, the conduit members forming passageways for a ball. No matter which side is up, a ball dropped in the top opening comes out a side one, but a ball inserted in one of the side holes disappears within the box.

United States Patent Zilius 51 Oct. 10,1972

[54] BALL AND CUBE WITH CONDUITS EXTENDING BETWEEN ADJACENT WALLS THEREOF [72] Inventor: Tadas Zilius, Hopewell, NJ.

[73] Assignee: Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc.

[22] Filed: Feb. 24, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 118,290

[52] US. Cl ..46/43, 46/24 [51] Int. Cl. ..A63h 33/00 [58] Field of Search...273ll53 R; 46/24, 43; 272/8 N [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,049,814 8/1962 McLain ..46/24 UX 3,069,805 12/ 1962 Burrows ..46/43 X 1,519,850 12/1924 Lautzenheiser.273/120RUX FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 311,277 6/1919 Germany ..46/43 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Creative Playthings Catalog, received 10-1-70, page 18 Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle Attorney-Spencer E. Olson and Martin M. Novack [57] ABSTRACT An amusement device employing a hollow cubical box having three curved conduit members assembled therein, each extending from and between a central opening in one wall of the box and a central opening in an adjacent wall, the conduit members forming passageways for a ball. No matter which side is up, a ball dropped in the top opening comes out a side one, but a ball inserted in one of the side holes disappears within the box.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures P'ATENTEnncI 1 M2 3.6%. 549

SHEET 1 0F 2 INVENTOR. TA 04 5 Z/L /US ATTORNEY PATENTED um I 01912 SHEET 2 0F 2 IXVEXTOR. 7A 04 5 Z L /US ATTORNEY BALL AND CUBE WITH CONDUITS EXTENDING BETWEEN ADJACENT WALLS THEREOF BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION INVENTION This invention relates to an amusement device, especially an amusement device having conduit means therein through which a ball may travel.

Amusement devices or games are known which employ passageways in the form of conduits of labyrinths through which a ball may travel. Usually such devices involve the exercise of some skill and/or manual dexterity to manipulate the device to cause theballto follow a given passageway, or to assemble the conduits in a desired way to vary the directions of the passageway. In general, devices of this type employ transparent passageways to provide visibility of the ball as it travels through the passageways, in order that the user can see how to tilt the device to cause the ball to follow the correct passageway in the case of the labyrinth, or to observe the movement of the ball in the case of the curved conduit. An example of a labyrinth amusement device is described in US. Pat. No. 3,406,971, and a game having sections of conduit and a plurality of supporting blocks which may be assembled to form a continuous passage that runs in varying directions is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,069,805.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an amusement device having conduits through which a ball travels which offers amusement coupled with an element of mystery, especially to a young child.

Briefly, this object is obtained by concealing the conduits from the child, only the entrances and exists of the passageways being visible. This is accomplished with a hollow cubical box formed of opaque material, such as colored plastic, having a centrally located hole in each of its walls. Assembled within the box are three sections of curved conduit, each extending from and between the hole in one of the walls and the hole in an adjacent wall. No matter which side of the box is placed up on a flat support, such as a table, a ball inserted in either of the exposed holes, except one, passes through the associated conduit and emerges from one of the others of the exposed holes. However, when the ball is inserted in the hole in a particular one of the side walls, it disappears and does not emerge, having been trapped in the conduit adjacent the supporting surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TI-IE DRAWING An understanding of the foregoing and additional aspects of this invention may be gained from consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a isometric view of the amusement device embodying the invention, with one wall of the box removed to illustrate the assembly of the conduits therein:

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 ofFIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an exploded plan view of one of the conduit members illustrating how it is constructed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As illustrated in FIG. 1, the present amusement device comprises a hollow cubical box 10 having six walls 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 'l0e and 10f of essentially identical appearance. The box is formed of opaque material, and in the interest of low cost and convenience in manufacture, is preferably formed of a plastic material such as high impact styrene. To minimize-the assembly problem while providing access to theinterior of the box for assemblytherein of the conduits, the box is formed in two parts, anopen walled box having five walls integrally molded together, and a flat sheet having a thickness equal to the other walls which is assembled therewith after the conduits are assembled therein to provide the sixth wall of the cube. The five-sided box is preferably injection-molded and all corners, including the edges defining theopening are slightly rounded as shown at 12 in FIG. 2 to enhance the appearance of the box and to eliminate sharp edges on which a child might be injured. The upper edges of the side walls 10b, 10c, 10d and 10e are of reduced thickness to a depth corresponding to the thickness of top wall 10a to provide a shoulder 14 on which the top wall 10a is supported. The top plate is dimensioned to be snugly received in the opening and frictionally held therein, but if greater security is desired, it may be additionally secured with a suitable adhesive. By virtue of the curvature of the side walls at the periphery of the open wall and the placement of the top wall onto the shoulder 14, it is virtually impossible to distinguish the top wall from the integrally joined side walls and bottom wall.

Each of the walls 10a 10f has a centrally located I hole 16a 16f therethrough, the holes being circular in the preferred embodiment. Typically, the box may be 4% inches on a side and having circular openings l- 13/ l 6 inches in diameter.

Assembled within the box 10 are three conduit members 18, 20 and 22 which extend from and between a hole in one wall and the hole in an adjacent wall of the box. Morespecifically, one end of conduit 18 extends from hole 16a in the top wall to the hole 16c in side wall l0e; conduit 20 extends from hole 16b in side wall 10b to hole 16f in the bottom wall 10f; and, conduit 22 extends from hole 160 in side wall to hole 16d in side wall 10d.

As shown in FIG. 3, the conduits are preferably fabricated in two parts, as two halves of the generally cylindrical tube, by injection-molding from a suitable plastic material, such as polypropylene. The two halves 20a and 20b, which are mirror images of each other, are preferably molded at the same time in a common mold and joined together along a portion of their longer edges by an integral thin web or hinge 20c. Integrally molded along the edges of the shorter side of each half are thin tabs 20d and 20e. To form the conduit from the two halves, one is placed in register with the other, the web 200 being folded in the process to extend outwardly, and tabs 20d and 20e overlying each other. Thereafter tabs 20e and 20d, and the outwardly extending folded tab 20c are heat sealed together to rigidly secure the two halves together to form a conduit with an unobstructed circular passageway therethrough. Inasmuch as the conduits are concealed within the box, the fact that the sealing tabs protrude from the exterior of the conduit is not objectionable. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the shorter side of each conduit is essentially straight and has a short radius of curvature at either end, and the longer side is essentially straight over a portion of its length, corresponding generally to the dimension of the short side, with the ends having a somewhat larger radius of curvature. The wall thickness of the conduit is typically one-sixteenth inch, with both ends formed with a peripheral shoulder at each end 20f, 20g which engages the annular area surrounding the openings in which they are inserted. The conduits are so dimensioned relative to the internal dimensions of the box as to be assembled within the box and firmly held in their respective openings without popping out without the use of an adhesive between the two halves of the conduit, or between the ends of the conduit members and the holes in which they are received, and without interference, one with the other, at the center point of the box.

It will be evident that conduit is assembled first, followed by conduit 22, and after conduit 18 is inserted in hole 16e in side wall 102, the top wall 10a is put in place with the free end of conduit 18 received in hole 16a.

To complete the amusement device there are provided one or more balls, one of which is shown at 24; in the commercial product, three balls of different colors are provided, but it will be seen that only one is used at a given time. For conduits having the dimensions described, the balls may have a diameter of 1% inches.

in use, the box 10 is placed on a supporting surface, such as a table, and because all of the walls are identical in appearance, the wall that is placed down is entirely random. Assuming the placement illustrated in FIG. 1, if the ball 24 is inserted in hole 16a in the top wall, it will travel through conduit 18 and emerge from hole l6e in side wall 102 and drop onto the table. Similarly, if a ball is inserted in either of holes 160 or 16d in adjacent side walls 10c and 1011, respectively, and given a little push, it will travel through conduit 22 and emerge from the opposite end and drop onto the table. If not pushed, however, the ball has a tendency to stay in the conduit. However, if the ball is inserted in opening 16b in side wall 10b, it will travel through conduit 20 and be trapped at the lower end against the supporting surface. Because of the curvature of the conduit, and the fact that the box is opaque, the ball is lost within the box insofar as the child is concerned because, of course, he is not aware of the internal construction of the box. Thus, the device offers an element of mystery and causes the child to shift the position of the box in an attempt to find a position in which the ball will emerge regardless of which hole the ball is inserted. It will be seen, however, that regardless of which wall of the box is placed down in contact with the supportprohibitively expensive. Similarly, although the openings and conduits have been described as circular,

it will be apparent that conduits of square or rectangular cross section, with openings of corresponding shape in the walls, could be used.

I claim:

1. An amusement device comprising:

a hollow cubical box each of the walls of which has a centrally located opening therethrough,

three curved conduit members contained within said box and each extending from and between the opening in one of said walls and the opening in an adjacent wall, and

at least one ball having a diameter smaller than the inner dimension of said conduit members adapted to be inserted in said openings and to travel along the associated conduit.

2. An amusement device according to claim 1 wherein said openings are circular and said conduit members are of circular cross-section.

3. An amusement device according to claim 1 wherein said walls are formed of opaque material.

4. An amusement device according to claim 1 wherein said box is formed of opaque plastic material with five of its walls integrally joined together and formed with a shoulder around the periphery of the open face, and the sixth wall is a flat plate assembled in said open face and engaging said shoulder.

5. An amusement device according to claim 4 wherein said openings are circular and said conduit members are of circular cross-section.

6. An amusement device according to claim 5 wherein said conduit members are formed of mating semi-circular halves formed of plastic and secured together, and have a peripheral shoulder at each end thereof engaging the area surrounding the opening in which it is inserted. 1

7. An amusement device comprising:

an opaque member of cubical shape each of the external walls of which has a circular opening therein;

said cubical member having three curved conduits therein and each extending from and between the opening in one of said walls and the opening in an adjacent wall, and,

at least one ball having a diameter smaller than the inner dimension of said conduits adapted to be inserted in said openings and to travel along the associated conduit. 

1. An amusement device comprising: a hollow cubical box each of the walls of which has a centrally located opening therethrough, three curved conduit members contained within said box and each extending from and between the opening in one of said walls and the opening in an adjacent wall, and at least one ball having a diameter smaller than the inner dimension of said conduit members adapted to be inserted in said openings and to travel along the associated conduit.
 2. An amusement device according to claim 1 wherein said openings are circular and said conduit members are of circular cross-section.
 3. An amusement device accOrding to claim 1 wherein said walls are formed of opaque material.
 4. An amusement device according to claim 1 wherein said box is formed of opaque plastic material with five of its walls integrally joined together and formed with a shoulder around the periphery of the open face, and the sixth wall is a flat plate assembled in said open face and engaging said shoulder.
 5. An amusement device according to claim 4 wherein said openings are circular and said conduit members are of circular cross-section.
 6. An amusement device according to claim 5 wherein said conduit members are formed of mating semi-circular halves formed of plastic and secured together, and have a peripheral shoulder at each end thereof engaging the area surrounding the opening in which it is inserted. 1
 7. An amusement device comprising: an opaque member of cubical shape each of the external walls of which has a circular opening therein; said cubical member having three curved conduits therein and each extending from and between the opening in one of said walls and the opening in an adjacent wall, and, at least one ball having a diameter smaller than the inner dimension of said conduits adapted to be inserted in said openings and to travel along the associated conduit. 